Worship

Sermon for Halifax Minster on Sunday 7 July 2013

The Revd Christopher Woods, National Worship Development Officer

Louis Vierne, the end of 19th/start of 20th C French organist and composer, with whose beautiful and sumptuous music we praise God this morning at this Festival Eucharist, did not have an easy life. He was born virtually blind, but at the age of only two was recognized with the extraordinary musical ability. He had the great fortune of being tutored by excellent French organist maestros and managed to secure the best organist position of the time in continental Europe – Notre-Dame de Paris. 1900-1937. Vierne had spiritual, emotional and physical difficulties, much of which would have caused any great person to give up, but he had a steely determination to praise of God through composition and performance. All of this is expressed and apparent in his musical work. He died at the organ during a live performance. The textures, flourishes, lilts and sonic experiences never fail to touch the depths of even the most hard-hearted of us, even if we would find it hard to admit it.

The beautiful and fairly obvious lesson about the life of a composer such as Vierne, is the God-given talent which shines through despite all the frustrations and hindrances which life throws at us. Vierne was lucky – he discovered his God-given talent at a young age and never let God’s spark which was burning in his life disappear once it was discovered.

What is your God-given gift and talent? Each one of us has a talent, some have several talents, and many of us do not discover them until we are much older, but God has bestowed upon each one of us the gift of life and within that life there are sparks of talent which we can offer as gifts to others to help human communities flourish. We just have to recognize them, unlock them and help each others unlock them.

And this is crucial: to help others unlock their God-given gifts so that their life and the lives of others might flourish. And this is in many ways part of the great task and commission which Our Lord gave to the seventy in the Gospel reading this morning – Go on your way..I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves…Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there and say to them, “the kingdom of God has come near to you”.

In sending out the seventy (which is a symbolic number), Jesus is entrusting us to share the great gift of faith with the world and to tell them through actions, words and talents that the kingdom of God has come near to you. God through Vierne’s music and the splendour of the liturgy is encouraging us to recognize that the kingdom of God has come near to us. Jesus taught his disciples, he made sure they were prepared before he sent them forth. It is the Church’s task to do the same for all of us. And that is why we come to Church. It is the supreme reason why we come here on a beautiful Sunday morning like this rather than stay in the garden and sunbathe.

Because it is in the liturgy and worship of the Church that we are given the strength and courage and wisdom to share our talents and our faith with others in the coming week. It is at the altar when we receive the body and blood of Christ himself that we are anointed afresh to go into the world and live the life which God has called us to live. It is when we are blessed and told to Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord that we are given again the call to go out in to the world and tell others ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you’. We might be rebuffed, we might be laughed at, we might be ignored, but that is part of the risk. We take the rough with the smooth, but one thing is certain – God is holding us in the palm of his hand.

The contemporary Church might easily claim that the passage in today’s gospel is the mandate for mission, and that is true, but that word has become clouded with a lot of baggage, and in actual fact the word mission comes from the act in the liturgy itself which i have just mentioned – the Dismissal – the sending out – Go in peace to love and serve The Lord. It is from this passage in Luke that we are tasked with the the responsibility and calling to be sent out, to go out into the world, encouraging each other and supporting each other along the way. Jesus did not send just one person out alone to share the gift of faith – he sent many out together. So as we go into our separate lives later today, may we remember that we are together, bound together by the love of God in community to fulfil the task of sharing the beauty and mystery of God with others.

The language which Luke attributes to Jesus – sending out like lambs into the midst of wolves is rather battle hardy in an attempt to prepare us for the trials and bruises which we might sustain along the way. Nothing which involves sharing something of ourselves for the sake of others and of God is going to be an easy ride or plain sailing.

And there in a sense is the link between our talent and the mission of the Church – that nothing beautiful is ever without some small amount of pain or sacrifice. If we think about that a little more deeply and perhaps reflect on our experiences or the experiences of others whom we know and have known, whom we admire and have admired, we know it to be true – there is a cost with Christian discipleship. But in the end that can only add to the overwhelming joy in sharing our talent and our faith with others, because they will then know the measure of that sacrifice too.

And today here in the Minster you are celebrating the great talents and gifts of music, theatre, art- all of which are a great gift which unlock the beauty and mystery of God for the world around. But what is it all for? Is it to simply enjoy the talent for its own sake, or is there more to it than that? Surely it must always be to know this: ‘The kingdom of God has come near’?

Sundays

Early Eucharist Service: 9.00am

This is a said service (approx 45 mins) in traditional language which takes place in the Holdsworth Chapel. The service includes prayers of confession and praise, listening to the bible readings set for the day, hearing a sermon from the presiding minister, and sharing in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The congregation use the Book of Common Prayer.

Main Eucharist Service: 10.30am

This is a traditional Eucharist service in modern language with accompaniment from organist and choir which takes place in the main body of the church (approx 1hr 30 mins). The service includes prayers of confession and praise, hearing God’s word spoken and sung, listening to a sermon, offering prayers of intercession for the church, the world and ourselves and sharing in the sacrament of the Eucharist. During term time there are also ‘Children’s Church’ sessions which follow the seasons and themes of the main service. Please go to the Children’s Church pages for further details. The congregation are provided with service booklets which contain seasonal material appropriate to the church’s year or to particular festivals being celebrated.

Evensong: 4.00pm

This is a quiet, contemplative service which is mostly sung and in traditional language (approx 50 mins). The presiding minister leads the service, singing the responses and prayers for the day.

For full details of all services, and all other services and events, please go to the Home Page and select the ‘Events’ tab, then click on the day you are interested in. All special services will also appear in the Events highlighted on the page - click through the pages to find what you are looking for.

Other Sunday Evening Services

There are a range of other services happening throughout the year on Sunday evenings, such as the Advent Carol Service. Please go to the Home Page and select the ‘Events’ tab. You can change month by scrolling down to the bottom of each month and clicking on ‘Next Month’.

Weekdays

Morning Prayer: Monday-Friday at 9.00am

This is a short (approx 20 mins) spoken service, in modern language, which includes saying canticles of praise and psalms, listening to the bible readings set for the day, and saying prayers of intercessions for the church, the world and ourselves. These services may be led by the clergy team or lay people.

Daily Eucharist: Monday-Friday at 12.30pm

This is a simple spoken service (approx 30 mins) in modern language, which includes prayers of confession and praise, listening to the bible readings set for the day, saying prayers of intercession and sharing in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Evening Prayer: Monday-Friday at 4.00pm

This is a short (approx 20 mins) spoken service, in modern language, which includes saying canticles of praise and psalms, listening to the bible readings set for the day, and saying prayers of intercessions for the church, the world and ourselves. These services may be led by the clergy team or lay assistants.

Public Sector Service: 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12:30pm

This service is intended for Christians in the public sector and all those in public service. We alternate between a Eucharist and a reflective service. Both take around 30 minutes and are followed by a free lunch - just enough time to get away from the busy-ness of the office for peace and prayer!

Our Christian Journey

Here at the Minster each year we have an “Initiation Sunday” on the first Sunday in November – which is the culmination of several weeks of preparation by groups of all ages and backgrounds within the church. The service acknowledges that whoever we are, whether our faith is new or old, deep or doubting, whether we are young or rich in experience, we need to mark the steps on our journey with God as individuals and as a community. When we do this together we experience something powerful of God’s movement in the world through his church and through each of us, and we affirm our commitment to lifelong learning as Christians.

If you feel any of these journeys are right for you, please have a word with one of the clergy.

The service contains four elements:

Baptism:

Baptism comes directly from scripture. We know that Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, and the letters written to the early church following the Gospels in the New Testament record whole families being baptized, adults and children together. In scripture there is no mention of any other rite of passage associated with membership of the church – baptism was the only and full rite of passage. At the Minster we welcome all people to be baptised; infants, children and adults. (Wherever possible adults will go on to be confirmed on the same day).

While baptism marks the entry point into the church and the life of the worshipping community, we acknowledge too that faith is a process and not a one off event or experience. To become a disciple, means literally ‘one who learns’, and for the baptized it is a commitment to lifelong learning. If you have joined our worshipping community or live within the area of the Minster’s parish you may be baptised here. As part of baptism for you or your family you will be welcomed into the Minster community, you will be visited by a member of the clergy team, you will be invited to a rehearsal for your baptism service, and also invited back to future events at the Minster. A baptism may take place as part of the Initiation service in November or on one of the other Sundays through the year set aside for this purpose. Please speak to any member of the clergy team for more information.

Initiation

Here at the Minster along with many other parishes in the Church of England, and some churches of other denominations, we have introduced Initiation – which is admission to communion before confirmation for children and young people between the ages of 7 and 16. We recognise that biblically Jesus never made any pre-conditions to sharing in the Lord’s Supper, and neither did the early church. Many practitioners who work with children and young people are aware of the deep spirituality that some children possess, and that to receive the sacrament is more about an experience of Jesus rather than knowledge of God and of the Trinity.

A course of preparation begins each September to share teaching about Jesus, creation, the church, the Holy Trinity, prayer and commitment and of course the Eucharist itself with those wishing to be admitted to communion. If you or a member of your family would like to take part in the course and be initiated into Holy Communion at the November service, please speak to a member of the clergy team.

Confirmation

Confirmation can be viewed in two ways – as an opportunity for individuals who were baptized as infants to make the promises made on their behalf for themselves, or as an opportunity for adults whose faith is new to them or newly deepened to affirm that step, and in each case for the gifts of the spirit to be evoked by the bishop upon them. At the Minster confirmation is encouraged for those over 16, following an appropriate course of preparation for both enquirers of the faith and for those who have already been admitted to communion before confirmation. Beginning in September each year and leading up to the November service, the course looks at the same subject areas as the initiation course for young people. Historically confirmation has been seen as a passing out parade, the point after which young people’s attendance at church drops off. At the Minster we encourage it to be viewed as another important step along the way, and a continuing of that commitment to lifelong learning and discipleship which begins when we come to faith in baptism.

Re-affirmation of Baptism Vows

This is an opportunity for those who may have been baptised or confirmed long ago – or who feel that in recent times their relationship with God has changed or deepened – to mark another step on their pilgrim journey. Sometimes those who were confirmed as children relish the opportunity to take vows as adults which reflect their growth in faith and the developing relationship with God which has strengthened or been rediscovered in adulthood. These candidates also participate in a course of preparation, side by side with those adults preparing for Confirmation, which provides a great opportunity for the sharing of experience and inspiration. It is also inspiring for our young people to share in the willingness of those of all generations to affirm their faith side by side with them as they make their own declarations of faith. It is a joyful, visible sign of God’s presence with all people at all stages of life.